Research Design Fall 2007

From PsychWiki - A Collaborative Psychology Wiki

Course Information

Basic Information: I am assuming no preexisting knowledge about Research Design, so we will be using the textbook as the way to impart the “basic” information you need to know to get you up-to-speed on Research Design.

Essential Information: During class I will then be providing more detailed information culled from the larger body of knowledge about Research Design so that you will be able to confidently conduct your own independent research after the course is over. See the previous section of Class Materials for the handouts and class powerpoints.

Advanced Information: For each topic I will also be providing where to find the premier in-depth sources of information about that topic in case you want more advanced knowledge about a particular aspect of Research Design after the course is over.

Generating Research Ideas

(McGuire, W. J. 1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 1-30. This is the premier source for learning how to generate research ideas because it covers a comprehensive range of established and novel ways to identify/discover research ideas.

Reviewing Scientific Works in Psychology, Edited by Sternberg. This book is a masterful example of experienced researchers passing-on their hard-won knowledge about the review process for journals, books, grants, etc., and at the same time providing concrete suggestions about to be a reviewer and evaluate other's works. I can't recommend enough this book to anyone who either evaluates researcher, or is a reviewer for journals/grants.

For just information about Reliability: See the Spring “Statistics” class

For information about Validity and Reliability for Qualitative Research: see Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research, by Kirk & Miller, Sage publications (part of the Qualitative Research Methods Series)

For information about Validity and Reliability for Quantitative Research: see Reliability and Validity Assessment, by Carmines & Zeller, Sage Publications (part of the Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Series)

Qualitative Methodology

Qualitative Methods in Psychology, by Banister et al, from McGraw-Hill, 1997. This is an excellent practical resource about conducting all types of qualitatitve research.

The Handbook of Research Synthesis, by Cooper and Hedges, Russell Sage publications, 1994. This thick book have chapters devoted to all the different aspects of conducting literature reviews. The book also covers meta-analyses.

Subjects and sampling

Practical Sampling, by Henry, Sage Publications, 1990 (part of the Applied Social Research Methods Series). This is a good overview of how to sample and the different types of sampling. Since sampling is central to almost every type of methodological design, this book is a practical way to get up-to-date on how to find and sample subjects.

Observational Research

Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies, by Jorgensen, Sage Publications. This book covers both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of observational research. Note that observational research is a complex methodological design, so if you want to get in-depth explanation of the process, you want a book that covers both qualitative and quantitative aspects because using both aspects simultaneously ("mixed-design") is the best way to utilize this methodological approach.

Practical Meta-analysis, by Lipsey and Wilson. This book explains each step of the process in-depth. For summary information, see the PsychWiki Meta-analysis page where I describe the basic steps involved in a meta-analyses, and the books/articles to read to understand each step in the process. I divide those books/articles according to (1) how to learn what is a meta-analysis and how to evaluate one, and (2) how to conduct a meta-analyses and each step in the process.

Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference, by Shadish, Cook and Campbell. This is a 2002 book that provides an excellent coverage of both Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs. Note - this 2002 is an updated version of a 1979 book called "Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings" by Cook/Campbell, and should not be confused with the 1963 book by Campbell discussed in the previous bullet point called "Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference".

Collecting Data

The day-to-day knowledge about collecting data is housed in the apprenticeship model (graduate-to-graduate student training within Lab Groups), which is why I started the PsychWiki pages so that we can start collectively benefiting from each other's experiences and knowledge:

The Psychologist's Companion, Written by Sternberg is a guide to scientific writing for students and researchers. The majority of the chapters describe how to write in psychology, including common misconceptions, using APA format, and how to write the different parts of an article.

Peer Review Process

Reviewing Scientific Works in Psychology, Edited by Sternberg. This book is a masterful example of experienced researchers passing-on their hard-won knowledge about the review process for journals, books, grants, etc., and at the same time providing concrete suggestions about to be a reviewer and evaluate other's works. I can't recommend enough this book to anyone who either evaluates researcher, or is a reviewer for journals/grants.

The Psychologist's Companion, Written by Sternberg is a guide to scientific writing for students and researchers. The last few chapters about how to evaluate a paper, submit to journals, and tips for gaining acceptance are directly relevant to the peer review process.